John Walter Lappin

John Walter Lappin, 82, of Las Vegas, Nevada, passed away at his home on February 26, 2023.
Born in 1940 in Passaic, New Jersey, Jack was an adventurous and big hearted lover of life and a devoted husband, father, uncle, and grandfather.
As a young boy, his family moved around, living in Pennsylvania and New Jersey before ultimately settling in Winsted, CT. He graduated high school from the Gilbert School, where he was voted top dancer and best dressed boy of the class, served as the assistant manager of the Glee Club, and was active in the radio club. Ironically, his yearbook quote was: "What! Me worry?"
Jack went on to study at Lehigh University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Suffolk University in Boston, where he discovered his passion for accounting. In Boston, while not crunching numbers, he was known as the "King of the Hill" and the life of many a party, spending his free time riding his motorcycle with friends and to concerts and the beach.
After graduating, he became a Certified Public Accountant. Early in his career, he worked as a supervisor for Grant Thornton and then as a controller for National Equities, Inc and the Western Union Realty Corporation. He started his own accounting practice in 1974. His love of Las Vegas began in a real estate deal that resulted in the development of the Las Vegas Country Club.
For Jack, gardening was a true passion and he loved pickling his cucumbers, tending to his tomatoes, and sharing his vegetables with family and friends. He'd spend hours ordering his seeds and planning his plots. When he moved to his beloved Las Vegas, he even figured out how to make a garden grow in his backyard in the desert. He was an avid collector of recipes, especially for his fig, lemon, and kumquat tress.
Captain Jack loved sailing his boat, Jack Rabbit, in Long Island Sound, and later cruising in luxury all over the world. He was an intrepid world traveler and an aspiring member of the Century Travelers club, having visited nearly 100 countries. Spain was his favorite and as he did in places he loved, he invested in a vacation apartment in Marbella for eight years. Jack had great stories of his globetrotting days, like being in Russia during the coup attempt of 1991 and dancing on tables inside the Kremlin after the coup failed, as they handed out bottles of vodka and caviar. Wherever he went, he was known for finding the most interesting restaurants and eating the most exotic foods, like jellyfish, haggis, chocolate covered ants, witchetty grubs, mountain oysters, and bear paw - which he insisted on eating at a restaurant in China frequented by the Gang of Four.
If you spent even five minutes with Jack, you would know that music was a core part of his being and brought him great joy. He had an unrivaled encyclopedic knowledge of record labels, Doo-Wop bands, and seemingly every A or B side pressed in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He loved live concerts and being a member of the Parrothead Club in Las Vegas. Jack also loved New Orleans where he attended 32 Jazzfests, and could often be found eating cracklins and drinking beer in the Blues Tent. One of his life's biggest thrills was when the Cleftones dedicated the song "Heart and Soul" to him at their last live concert.
Most of all, he was very proud of his family and loved them immensely. He is survived by his devoted wife of 32 years, Esther R. Dyer; his two children, Jessica Lappin and Joshua Lappin; his son-in-law Andrew Wuertele; and his three grandchildren: Lucas Wuertele, Miles Wuertele and Sabrina Lappin. They will all miss spending time and traveling with him, watching the NY Jets and NY Mets lose together, playing cards, laughing over great meals, and celebrating the holidays.
The viewing will take place at 11am at the Tebbutt & Frederick Memorial Home in Albany, New York, on March 11, 2023, with a burial immediately to follow. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Jack's honor may be donated to the New Orleans Musicians Clinic (https://neworleansmusiciansclinic.org/), The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (https://www.jazzandheritage.org) or your favorite charity.
The visitation and memorial service at the funeral home will be live streamed, and can be viewed by using the link below.
https://youtube.com/live/DTnHDzRXQf4?feature=share